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With the college football season upon us, it's time for the annual TGT College Pick 'Em group on ESPN.com!

From ESPN: Here's how the game works...every week throughout the college football season, we select 10 evenly matched games. It's then up to you to do your research (or go with your gut) and select the winners of these games while also ranking them from 1-10 based on your confidence level.

For example, if you correctly pick the winner of your most confident game, you receive 10 points. On the other hand, winning the game you feel least confident about is only worth one point. Any time you lose a game, no points are awarded - so be careful which ones you declare as your most confident. Good luck on all your picks this fall.

Get in the action now! (Group Name: The Gaming Tailgate)

The winner (who must be in good standing at TGT to claim their prize) will receive a $20 PSN/XBL/Nintendo/Amazon gift card of their choosing. It is free to enter, so feel welcome to invite family and friends. ...

During a recent series of FOIA request by Extra Points with Matt Brown, the aforementioned author gleaned information regarding EA's request for rivalry game information from universities.

On June 1, 2023, EA SPORTS reached out to schools asking for rivalry games, names (if applicable), trophy names, and more. Additional information can be found in the article by Brown, which is premium content, including the form sent to each program. ...

On Tuesday, Electronic Arts filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought against it by group licensing company The Brandr Group over its future College Football video game. In the case that the lawsuit isn’t dismissed, EA has asked the court to pause the discovery process. (FOF)

An in-person hearing has been scheduled for 2 p.m. PT Oct. 19. A Case Management Conference had been set for Sept. 26. But [Judge Haywood] Gilliam has moved the call to Aug. 15. The meeting could set the date for a hearing or be the place where a resolution is announced. (On3)

Information courtesy: Front Office Sports & On3 ...

During Electronic Arts' Q1 2024 Earnings Call on August 1, EA CEO Andrew Wilson mentioned EA SPORTS College Football several times during the course of his opening statement and in answering questions from analysts.

While the answers are generally vague, it is encouraging to hear the game - approximately one year away from release - being discussed during the earnings call. Wilson mentions that the game currently has many schools on-board and that they will continue working to get real players into the title.

The next earnings call will take place on November 1, 2023. Continue on to read the transcript from relevant aspects of the call. ...

On the July 13 edition of The Solid Verbal Podcast, host Ty Hildenbrandt interviewed Matt Brown (of Extra Points with Matt Brown). The lead-off topic for the interview centered on the latest news & info surrounding the development of EA SPORTS College Football, as gathered by Brown.

Brown has been at the forefront of covering development of the title, led by his efforts in utilizing FOIA requests from universities and also through contacts around college football and at EA. (You can follow Brown's coverage of the sport and game at extrapointsmb.com.)

Among the game aspects covered by Hildenbrandt and Brown: Should fans be worried about a delay, when NIL offers may go out to players, potential player payment range, the Brandr lawsuit, when gameplay and development news may arrive, Dynasty Mode being the focus for the title, a recruiting mode revamp including earlier commits in recruiting, their process in gathering feedback from college football experts, the focus on realism, and more.

Continue on to watch the interview with Brown at The Solid Verbal. ...

The second Tuesday of July was the traditional release date for EA SPORTS NCAA Football, with the final version - NCAA Football 14 - being released nearly ten years ago on July 9, 2013.

To date, game details surrounding its successor EA SPORTS College Football have been kept under wraps, with EA only confirming Dynasty Mode and Road to Glory as features while also including the College Football Playoff, the Frostbite Engine, and the ability for actual players to appear in the game.

Before game information is announced ahead of next summer's anticipated release date, we want to know what you think will be in the game.

Who do you think will be the cover athlete? What features will (or will not) be the in the game? When will the first trailer be released? Any and all predictions are welcome! Post them here or on one of our appropriate social media channel posts.

Numerous poll options will be posted on our Twitter account linked here. Responses and poll results will be highlighted in a future edition of The Gaming Tailgate Podcast. ...

Following The Brandr Group's (TBG) lawsuit accusing Electronic Arts of attempting to circumvent their group licensing contracts, TBG sought and was denied a temporary restraining order against the developer to prevent any additional offers to schools or athletes for appearing in EA SPORTS College Football.

After failing to win the bid to help acquire player rights for the title (EA ultimately signed a deal with OneTeam Partners), TBG filed a lawsuit claiming that EA is attempting to circumvent their group licensing contracts. Days later, TBG filed a request for the temporary restraining order.

In spite of the lawsuit, EA SPORTS told The Athletic that the game is still on track for a summer 2024 release and that they had not yet made any monetary offers to players for their likeness to be included in EA SPORTS College Football. ...

Andy Wittry & On3 spoke with nine FBS players at the INFLCR NIL Summit held in Nashville last week and asked their thoughts on what fair compensation would be for players to appear in EA SPORTS College Football. In the article, the majority of players seemed to be pleased with the hypothetical $500 amount, however the premise of the article ('potential holdouts') was framed on select quotes from a few players.

Based on quotes from Oklahoma quarterback General Booty, it did not appear he or his teammates were familiar with the $500 amount being bandied about: "We’ve actually been talking about that in the locker room. So, we’ve all talked about it because we want the game to come out, obviously. But we were saying if they come out and try to lowball and say we want to give everyone $200. Well, guys maybe like, like you mentioned Caleb Williams, may say no and then he’s not in the game. Then all the USC fans – who wants to buy the game and not play with him, you know?" It is expected that top players may be compensated more, perhaps in return for helping to market the title.

Similar quotes from Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels came in response to a reporter asking if such holdouts were possible. The sub-headline screamed about potential 'mass holdouts' while his quote dealt solely with the "highest college football players that are in the nation right now."


One day after Wittry's On3 article was posted, the College Football Players Association released a statement that 'every past, present, and future college football player should boycott the deal.' CFBPA vice-president Justin Falcinelli claimed that a current NFL player told him that they had received $28,000 for appearing in Madden NFL 23. Extra Points with Matt Brown's Matt Brown shared on Twitter he has heard from three sources that NFL players make no where near that amount for appearing in Madden, rather that number is for *all* NFL group license payouts.

It is unknown what percentage of FBS players are members of the CFBPA. A very unscientific approach, but the official Twitter account for the group has only 359 followers as of writing this news story. It seems possible that the Association's request for a boycott of EA SPORTS College Football could be primarily to increase awareness and membership of the group.

Could outside entities such as the framing of the article as well as the CFBPA calling for a boycott be making it an uphill battle for EA SPORTS to acquire player rights? ...

Buffalo's Josh Allen will be the cover athlete for Madden NFL 24, available August 15, 2023 for pre-orders or August 18 for everyone.

As part of the cover announcement, EA SPORTS released a reveal trailer for the title as well as feature overviews. Some of the noteworthy features coming to the title include cross-play, mini-games (in Franchise & from the main menu), FieldSENSE improvements, SAPIEN technology for improved models and animations, and more.

Continue on to see the Madden NFL 24 reveal trailer and an overview of the features coming to the game. ...